Hundreds protest Machado Peace Prize award in Oslo

Image of the protest via X

Various Sources

The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this year to María Corina Machado, a Venezuelan opposition leader known for her far right positions and explicit support for US military intervention in Venezuela. This decision by the Norwegian Nobel Committee triggered considerable backlash both domestically in Norway and internationally due to Machado’s association with calls for conflict escalation, support for Israel and its genocide in Gaza and her having once actually sent out a plea to Benjamin Netanyahu to attack her own country.

On December 9, 2025, a broad coalition of Norwegian peace and solidarity organizations staged protests in Oslo ahead of Machado's daughter accepting the award on her behalf. Demonstrators carried slogans such as "No peace prize for warmongers," expressing strong opposition to honoring Machado. These groups criticized the prize as politically motivated and incompatible with the values traditionally represented by the Nobel Peace Prize

Several hundred people gathered outside the Nobel Institute demanding the award be revoked. The Norwegian Peace Council went further by boycotting the Nobel Peace Prize torchlight procession in protest, highlighting deep unease among Norway’s peace-building community regarding Machado’s political affiliations.

The controversy around awarding the prize to Machado has stirred diplomatic tensions and sparked debate over the peace prize’s role and neutrality. Social movements and peace advocates allege that her laureateship “stains” the prize’s legacy, warning against the politicization of what many see as a symbol for peace and dialogue.

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